Megan Couvillion, MD, a dermatologist in Houston, emphasizes that yoga alone isn’t the answer to coping with psoriasis.
“I wouldn’t recommend it as a first-line therapy, but I think it can be a helpful complementary activity,” she says. “The first order of business is to see a dermatologist because we have great medications — they’re the mainstay of treating the inflammatory response.”
Medical treatments have expanded over the years and become more effective, according to David Pariser, MD, a dermatologist in Norfolk, Virginia.
“With current modern treatment, about half of psoriasis patients can be cleared or almost cleared and maintain that for years,” says Dr. Pariser. “We can help people with psoriasis now so much better than we could a few years ago.”
He does note, though, that some of these new treatments — such as biologics (drugs derived from living sources) — can be very expensive and access may depend on insurance coverage.
On the other hand, yoga, although not a surefire remedy, can be cost-free.
To find health professionals who use yoga in their practice, the National Psoriasis Foundation offers an online patient navigation center, which gives free assistance in finding resources.
DeWilde emphasizes that no matter how bad your psoriasis is, some form of exercise is likely to help.
“I always stress the importance of physical activity,” she says. “And for a lot of my patients who do have a chronic condition like psoriasis and can’t do a whole lot, yoga is less intimidating and seems more doable than trying a CrossFit workout or something like that.”
Read the full article here
